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JEWELRY RINGS CITRINE : Diamond and CZ are both singly refractive, and both have refractiveindices over 2. CZ is actually more dispersive than diamond (.060 vs..044). All this is why CZ is such a convincing imitator of diamond.Jamie--Jamie Foster, Pismo Beach, CAC&C Jewelers: , (805) 773-0110FAX: (805) 773-4288; my office phone is (805) 773-0101For every action, there's an equal and opposite criticism.'Fraid I've got to disagree a bit on this one. While sapphire (any color) isreasonably hard, it can also be slightly brittle, so it's durability is nowherenear what diamond's is. It is, however, as Larry says, considerably harder andmore durable that Cubic Zirconia. My real disagreement, though is with thestatement that sapphire "has fire". "Fire" is a common term for the propertyknown as dispersion, or the difference in a stones refractive index from one endof the color spectrum (blue) to the other (red). That difference results in thewhite light that hits and enters the stone being broken up into the spectralcolors, so that what you see coming back out of the stone is not just whitelight, but bits of yellow, blue, red, green, etc. In diamond, dispersion is alittle subtle, yet enough to give the returned light considerable vitality andinterest, without being gaudy. In C.Z, dispersion is much, much higher, withthe result that it's quite visually obvious. Sometimes, in some light sources,it can be actually a bit distracting, and one of the quickest tip-offs that thestone is not diamond. Sapphire, however, has very low dispersion. You almostnever actually see any bits of colored light coming from a white sapphire,unless it's a simple reflection of a colored object or light source. The resultis that while white sapphires can be bright and reflective, if well cut, theytend to look a bit "flat" and lifeless, in comparison to diamond.
JEWELRY RINGS CITRINE : Here's my thinking on this question in general. Rather than beat your head inlooking for a low cost look-alike for diamond, either synthetic cubic zirconia,or natural (or synthetic) white sapphire, how about simply using your favoritecolored stone? Instead of that white sapphire, spend a little more money andget a nice genuine sapphire with that property for which sapphires are rightlyfamous, a pretty color. That can be light blue, yellow, dark blue, greens, andmany others. If its pink or red, then it's ruby. Any way you look at itthough, it's the color that makes the gem pretty. White, by itself, is actuallypretty boring, unless its a really unusual looking white (like diamond can be.)One option I rather like is the lighter blue, often exceptionally clearsapphires from Montana. They range from a middle of the road quite intense bluecolor to quite light pastels, with some other colors than blue also possible.they tend to be slightly steely blue in color, compared to the australian orThai (etc) stones, clearer and brighter looking often, and more importantly, aregenerally sold in an "as mined" condition, rather than being heat treated orotherwise enhanced. Most natural sapphire from other parts of the world,INCLUDING MANY OF THE WHITE STONES, are extensively heat treated to change thecolor or clarity. The Montana blue sapphires are not only generally nottreated, but most are very nicely cut. They make a quite unique and unusual
JEWELRY RINGS CITRINE : Neal & Peter, Peter's comments are worth much more than 2 cents. Also,choosing thesetting and stone seperately (assuming the budget allows) will make the ring truly unique. Peter,would you say that 2 month's salary is still an appropriaterule-of-thumb for engagement ring purchases? Would that include the wedding bands as well?Hi Neal, Have you considerd white Sapphire? It would be a good (great)alternative for diamond. It's hard (9 mohs) and has fire also, it isalso a LOT cheaper than De B**** monopoly on (70+% of the market)diamonds. ( Oh God I'm in deep shhh that is poo poo with De B now I'llhave to keep an eye on my back. he he ) You would do much better with a white Sapphire than CZ (choke) sinceit is REAL, as will be your fourth coming marriage (OK that was sappy(Sorry)). Now let it be known that I have just started with gems (anewbie) but I think a white Sapphire it is a vary nice stone and youand your lady will feel good about (proud of). Instead of a CZ thatyou may (will) want to upgrade in a few years (to a real stone). Good luck Neal. I wish you and your fiancee well in all your endeavors.Larry
JEWELRY RINGS CITRINE : As to the two months stuff, please remember that this, like almost all "rules ofthumb" and various other suggestions regarding engagement diamonds, is thebright idea of the marketing folks at DeBeers. Is any suggestion on how muchto spend on a thing, when suggested by the sales people trying to get you to buya product, worth anything more than a moment of caution? It's just the latestin their marketing campaign to get us to spend more on yet bigger diamonds. Inthe '70s, it was common to see couples getting married with third of a carat andhalf carat diamonds. That seemed enough for many. Somehow, DeBeers wanted tosell bigger stones. More money. Hence the two months thing. Now, strangelyenough, brides are wanting the carat size stones, which just conveniently seemto fall in that two months range for many young professionals... And meanwhile,those now less used smaller diamonds seem to be marketed in other things, suchas the anniversary ring, mens jewelry, and that great "eater-up" of smalldiamonds for lots of cash at a time, the famous Tennis Bracelet. (That, just so
JEWELRY RINGS CITRINE : {{ Real long section of quoted thread, SNIPPED by moderator PWR}}{{considerable section of quote, SNIPPED by moderator... PWR}}I couldn't agree more with your posting. I had never heard of the twomonth rule when buying an engagment ring and when I saw it I washoriffied. My monthly salary is nearly $1800, Which would mean that itwould be reasonable for me to spend $3600 on a ring. I could buy a goodsecond hand car for that kind of money, or buy most of the white goodswe are going to need once we are married, or pop it into the bank andcontinue to save for a deposit on our own home.The other thing is, how long would it take to save two months wages whenyou still have to pay all the other usual bills?I would much rather a less expensive ring that a lot of thought,love andconcideration went into than worring about wether or not we could affordit.
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